I recently found this website and feel the need to share it. Please visit when you have some quiet time and share it with your families.

http://www.theplaceswelive.com/

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Milestone! We'll be listening for the Tooth Fairy tonight!

What's in your backyard?

We enjoy watching the birds in our backyard anyway but we made a more formal experience out of it this weekend by participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count, presented by the Audubon society. We had fun with it, but it might have been more fun if a few more birds had actually shown up. I blame the cold and semi-snowy weather and also the one big bird that did show up. This bird has been visiting our backyard every day in fact. He likes to hang out on our swingset, stalking the neighbor's bird feeders. I've never seem him get a little bird -they scatter long before he shows up and don't come around again until long after he's gone. But he must have some success here since he's in our yard so often we've even named him. Meet Taylor Hawks:

We think he's a sharp-shinned hawk based on our research, but we could be wrong about that. So far there have only been 18 sharp-shinned hawks reported in our state all weekend, including ours.


We also counted 18 Canada Geese in the lake behind the house. Not as interesting as the hawk since we have tons of geese around all the time. This picture was taken in the fall. I miss that green grass...


If you want to participate, there's still time if you're reading this before the 17th of February. Go to audubon.org to find out more.

Where I'm From

I am from orange drapes, linoleum, and station wagons, from Oscar Mayer and chocolate milk.

I am from the house with big trees and the chain link fence, where neighborhoods are parishes and alleys are bike trails.

I am from the old oaks and maples, the backyard garden, and stony creek.

I am from great family reunions and road trip vacations, from Lottie and Fran and Uncle Curly.

I am from the family of big laughs and strong faith.

From corny jokes and good music.

I am from saints and incense and big wooden pews, from sisters with rulers and rosary beads.

I'm from the windy city and the hills of the south, from frozen cake and christmas lasagna.

From the midwife, the salesman, and the sailor.

I am from folding chairs in the park,old family photos, homemade meals, and love. I am from the courage of immigrants, the strength of factory workers, the wisdom of teachers, and the tradition of motherhood. I couldn't imagine being from anywhere else.

This was a neat writing exercise I did this morning. I liked the way it turned out so I thought I'd share it here. If you're interested in writing one of your own, look here: http://www.swva.net/fred1st/wif.htm

Besides bringing me back, writing this also makes me look forward. I wonder how my children's WIF's will look when they're old enough to write one... I hope they'll share it with me.

65 and Sunny!

The groundhog saw his shadow last week but Spring seems to have sprung anyway. I'm sure Winter isn't done with us yet, but we sure are enjoying the sneak preview of warmer weather yet to come.

Science!

G (my 5 yr old) loves Science. I often find her playing "science experiment" with random household items and one of her favorite books to bring to bed, besides her cookbook, is her science book. So she wanted to share a new experiment she learned at co-op today. So far, Hands-on Science is her favorite class this semester. She likes it even more than my Cooking class- gasp! :-)

So first, wad up a paper towel and stuff it into a small cup.

Then push the cup upside down into a bowl filled half-way with water.

Pull the cup back out and...

tada, the paper towel is still dry!

Go ahead, try it at home. Have fun!

Happy Hedgehog Day!

Well, that's how it supposedly started- with a hedgehog, and other hibernating animals perhaps, making a weather prediction. It was also the day to honor the Goddess Brigid who later came to be known as St.Brigit and celebrated at Candlemas. So this day can be whatever you like I guess- a day to honor a goddess of grain, an Irish saint, a groundhog (or a hedgehog), or if you're like me, maybe you prefer all three.

Making a wish and an offering at Brigid's well.

If Candlemas be fair and bright,

Winter has another flight.

If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,

Winter will not come again."

~traditional